Hello forumers!

So I am returning for my masters in IT later this year, and to be frank, I hate carrying around a standard-sized laptop. For these reasons, I want to get a smaller machine that packs a mighty punch.

The Chromebooks so far is really appealing because of its hardware specs and portability. But I do worry about some things, and I've always felt comfortable with feedback from the community.

1) It's a Linux-based OS. I program, I use average things, like skype (Google Hangouts I've never used) as well. I imagine it's easy to use, all I have to do is download the Linux version of a program I want, yeah? I've never thoroughly used Linux by the way. Is it easy to start working around Linux?

Also, it is a concern. I want to be able to video chat my girlfriend. She's currently living in Madrid (of where I just left after my contract finished), yet hers expires soon, and we're both returning to school in the UK. So, when we want to vidchat, will there be a hastle? We used to use fb videochat, which is Skype-based. And if that wasn't working, we'd use skype.

Is it still easy to visually stay in touch? How would you rate Google Hangouts, and if you haven't used it, what have you heard about it? (I'm going to do some more research after)

2) The reviews I've read rave about Chromebooks overwhelmingly. Would you agree? What should I know?

3) I want to turn this into my primary computer. Is that crazy? Like I said, I am returning for a MSc in Information Technology. I'll need to program, and I'll need to work on the internet, and I'll probably download some PDFs because I enjoy reading a lot, especially from PDFs.

Now based on the small size of memory (I have roughly 25ish), am I asking too much? I am not sure. I know if I wanted to download my Ruby programming tools, Notepad++, etc., that wouldn't be too much.

4) But I am a little anxious about downloading them anyways, because I've never used Linux extensively. Should I remain with Windows?

These are the main gist of my questions.

I hope I didn't ask too much.

Thanks guys! I can't wait to hear more about ChromeOS and Chromebooks. I love the idea. Plus I do use Google tools often enough, besides gmail. Thanks again!

Get a light laptop, install linux on it. With proper linux, at least you would get better compatibility with other softwares.

1.) The OS is Linux based, but it can't run any Linux programs. The only programs you can run are web based ones (Chrome OS is essentially the Chrome web browser is OS form).

2.) They're great at what they do. If you just need an internet machine, or the ability to type a basic document here or there a Chromebook is a solid choice.

3.) For your needs, yes that is crazy. Refer to point #1

4.) If you plan to delve into Linux, start with Ubuntu. It's free and some people have gotten Ubuntu running side by side with Chrome OS. However it's quite a bit different than Windows and not as refined. Not to mention that most computer programs are written with Windows in mind so you'd need a visualization program (such as Wine) to run Windows executables.

The Chrome OS is predicated on being on line to use it. Everything is stored in the Cloud, everything is accessed from the Cloud. Sure, you can install some stuff locally, but not enough to call it a true laptop. ChromeOS is for web surfing and socializing.